How does a VPN provider give out user data?

Question

VPN

Due to the current restrictions, I decided to rent a server and install wireguard there. When everything was done, I remembered that the VPN retains the anonymity of the user exactly until the VPN provider receives an application from the police for the issuance of the real ip of this user (we do not consider options where the user foolishly gives himself away). So the question is - how can providers give out data if, for example, they don’t leak it to third parties, which means they don’t dump traffic with some kind of tcpdump? Can this information be obtained somewhere without pre-enabled traffic capture tools?

Answer 1

Ok, let's imagine a hypothetical situation that the police saw your post on Vkontakte and got very excited about it.
Because vkontakte merges data automatically, then your IP (VPN server) will be known literally immediately.
Further options are possible.
If the VPN is foreign, and the policeman is stupid, then seeing a foreign IP, he will look at who owns the IP (let's say Digital Ocean) and write a request there, asking him to disclose the user data of this IP.
If he is not very stupid, then he will not do this, but will look for more posts of this user, contacts, watch personal correspondence on VKontakte until he finds someone with a real name and who personally knows the suspect well and who can deanonymize him.
If the policeman is smart, then he will generally write in the report that the check did not give results and will not deal with this garbage, but will catch real terrorists. But there are very few of them.
Tools for removing traffic, network espionage and other high-tech - leave it for the movie about Mission Impossible, the real police do not work like that, and if they do. it's not for that. to figure out Vasya Pupkin with his posts ...

Answer 2

Your real IP is well known.
The whole dance with VPN (I'm not talking about the service need for access to corporate resources, for which VPN was originally born) essentially gives the type of transfer of a network card somewhere from a physical computer. I specifically write now with images that are not quite correct. Have you seen how video cards on wires are taken out of the case (for example, for cooling)? That's about the same, only a network card and a virtual wire.
Your ISP knows your IP very well. But what resources you visit - no.
The police should come to a VPN provider who will answer to the police in accordance with the laws to which he is subject. How exactly this will happen is not so important, nothing good for the VPN subscriber will still happen. It is important to understand that everything is regulated by the laws that apply to the VPN provider.